When I started thinking of this project, I wanted to make something that included a bit of the basics and something more advanced. It had to be battery powered, and most importantly, I wanted to make sure it went against the grain of everything needing a microcontroller. Thus Snowbot was born.
Larger 4 inch by 6 inch #PCBPainting by @David I. Herman came out better than we expected! Inspired by Alphonse Mucha’s style of Art Nouveau era art and design.
There didn’t seem to be a good way to get vector graphics into Pcbnew, so I wrote a small utility that uses an existing SVG library to read files, and then writes them out as KiCad modules.
It uses cjlano’s python SVG parser and drawing module to interpret drawings and approximate curves using straight line segments. Module files can be output in KiCad’s legacy or s-expression (i.e., pretty) formats. Horizontally mirrored modules are automatically generated for use on the back of a 2-layer PCB.
Over the last decade or so, the cost to produce a handful of custom PCBs has dropped through the floor. Now, you don’t have to use software tied to one fab house – all you have to do is drop an Eagle or KiCad file onto an order form and hit ‘submit’.
This circuit board was designed as a fun project for a SAMD21E microcontroller based development board. The circuit design follows the recommended design from the SAMD Datasheet.
We’re life-long tinkerers, siblings, and fourth generation mechanical engineers.
They’ve designed soldering kits for all levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced surface mount soldering. This heart is an example of an intermediate kit:
Each octopus has 16 amber LED lights throughout the arms connected to 12 tiny solar cells. So your necklace will charge and blink all on its own, no batteries required.
I would like you to meet my toaster. The toaster is an old character of mine who has survived through subtle reference in the things I draw and build. Nothing I make is about the toaster, but the toaster is about everything I make. He’s my chrome totem.
OSH Park 